Health officials are “working rapidly” to identify anyone who has come into contact with the first patient to test positive for coronavirus in Northern Ireland.

At a hastily convened press conference tonight, Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride revealed that an adult who had travelled to Northern Ireland from northern Italy via the Republic of Ireland had recorded a “presumptive positive” reaction to a test for the virus.

[…]

Seems like many cases in Europe and the one in Nigeria are being traced back to Italy.

But how does an infected person go from Italy through Ireland to NI without coming in contact with many people?

There are times when I shouldn’t watch MSNBC. I don’t know when they will come. But the conversation between Lawrence and a California congressman whose district is where a C-virus sufferer showed up, a pandemic specialist, and Ned Price was one of those times. It’s clear that there are absolutely no plans in place for anything. And as Ned Price said, “the world is watching how America deals with this.”

The bit that has me a bit disgusted/freaked out/wondering if I’m spinning into conspiracy theory town was Maddow reporting that the HHS people ordered in to a quarantine zone without safety equipment or training to meet the infected people from the cruise ship were the same people whose jobs are to take care of the children separated from their parents at the border.

The bit that has me a bit disgusted/freaked out/wondering if I’m spinning into conspiracy theory town was Maddow reporting that the HHS people ordered in to a quarantine zone without safety equipment or training to meet the infected people from the cruise ship we the same people whose jobs are to take care of the children separated from their parents at the border.

The bit that has me a bit disgusted/freaked out/wondering if I’m spinning into conspiracy theory town was Maddow reporting that the HHS people ordered in to a quarantine zone without safety equipment or training to meet the infected people from the cruise ship were the same people whose jobs are to take care of the children separated from their parents at the border.

I was walking the dog then, but wife was watching. Not sure how she took it, but I’ll probably hear about it tomorrow.

The bit that has me a bit disgusted/freaked out/wondering if I’m spinning into conspiracy theory town was Maddow reporting that the HHS people ordered in to a quarantine zone without safety equipment or training to meet the infected people from the cruise ship were the same people whose jobs are to take care of the children separated from their parents at the border.

But wouldn’t these people also be spreading the disease throughout the entire HHS organization AND the ICE employees who work at the facilities? And to their families and friends. This would seem like a way to spread the disease throughout the nation.

JFC he needs to be carried out of the White House on a handcart, wearing a face mask & a straightjacket.

“Diagnosis positive: @CNN is infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome. I’m calling out CNN for irresponsibly politicizing what should be a unifying battle against a virus that doesn’t choose sides.” @trish_regan@FoxNews Like I say, they are Fake News!

Do Nothing Democrats were busy wasting their time on the Impeachment Hoax, & anything they could do to make the Republican Party look bad, while I was busy calling early boarder & flight closings, putting us way ahead in our battle with the Coronavirus. Dems called it very wrong!

“Anti-Trump Network @CNN doing whatever it can to stoke a national Coronavirus panic. The far left Network pretty much ignoring anyone who they interview who doesn’t blame President Trump.” @trish_regan@FoxNews Media refuses to discuss the great job our professionals are doing!

I won’t ascribe to malice what is clearly a pattern arising from incompetence.

Donald Trump became President by playing on the fears of the know-nothings. All that Trump is centers around knowing nothing. Trump has always been about lying and puffery, a facade of stardom covering up a lack of any other skill or knowledge.

“…training or experience in managing public health emergencies, safety protocols and the potential danger to both themselves and members of the public they come into contact with,”https://t.co/bNFCw2FXJe

It’s only percentage drops that matter — not point drops. The largest percentage drop in history was the 22.6% on Oct 22, 1987. The total 4 day decline this week is 11.13%, which is less than half the drop in the single day in 1987.

This market will all recover quickly if the coronavirus threat dissipates for this year — which is quite possible. So far, worldwide there are only 83,000 cases reported; in the US over the past 4 months there have been 29 million to 41 million cases of flu. Every time we think that some action will finally bring down this administration, we have been wrong — and so far, it doesn’t appear that this will ultimately succeed either.

There are times when I shouldn’t watch MSNBC. I don’t know when they will come. But the conversation between Lawrence and a California congressman whose district is where a C-virus sufferer showed up, a pandemic specialist, and Ned Price was one of those times. It’s clear that there are absolutely no plans in place for anything. And as Ned Price said, “the world is watching how America deals with this.”

The district of the CA congressman also contains Travis Air Force Base, which is one of the locations the whistleblower cited as having Covid-19 patients being held with dangerously inadequate safety measures. One hell of a coincidence.

So I’m almost done writing RISE UP. The audience is 10-14 year olds. It’s critical race theory for young people. Thought I’d ask y’all the question I’m asking just about everyone I chat with these days: What’s ONE thing you wish you’d known about racism as a kid?

Dave Weigel’s review of the South Carolina race was pretty thorough, but he mentioned the Galivants Ferry Stump and said Joe and Pete were the only candidates still in the race who attended. I sent him an email with a picture of Amy at the Stump.

I know she’s mostly an afterthought these days, but jeez—she IS still running.

In effort to throw wily, lethal virus off its game, White House announces re-spelling of Coronavirus (Caronavirus). Also, as sign of how seriously POTUS takes threat, puts Pence in charge of pandemic. Smart — if things go south and wreck markets, it’s on Mike! https://t.co/mj8zu2FWeO

It’s only percentage drops that matter — not point drops. The largest percentage drop in history was the 22.6% on Oct 22, 1987. The total 4 day decline this week is 11.13%, which is less than half the drop in the single day in 1987.

This market will all recover quickly if the coronavirus threat dissipates for this year — which is quite possible. So far, worldwide there are only 83,000 cases reported; in the US over the past 4 months there have been 29 million to 41 million cases of flu. Every time we think that some action will finally bring down this administration, we have been wrong — and so far, it doesn’t appear that this will ultimately succeed either.

It’s only percentage drops that matter — not point drops. The largest percentage drop in history was the 22.6% on Oct 22, 1987. The total 4 day decline this week is 11.13%, which is less than half the drop in the single day in 1987.

This market will all recover quickly if the coronavirus threat dissipates for this year — which is quite possible. So far, worldwide there are only 83,000 cases reported; in the US over the past 4 months there have been 29 million to 41 million cases of flu. Every time we think that some action will finally bring down this administration, we have been wrong — and so far, it doesn’t appear that this will ultimately succeed either.

True, but Trump does seem to be doing his damndest to fuck this up. Only thing worse he could do right now is put Mike “heck-of-a-job-brownie” Brown in charge of the response.

It’s only percentage drops that matter — not point drops. The largest percentage drop in history was the 22.6% on Oct 22, 1987. The total 4 day decline this week is 11.13%, which is less than half the drop in the single day in 1987.

This market will all recover quickly if the coronavirus threat dissipates for this year — which is quite possible. So far, worldwide there are only 83,000 cases reported; in the US over the past 4 months there have been 29 million to 41 million cases of flu. Every time we think that some action will finally bring down this administration, we have been wrong — and so far, it doesn’t appear that this will ultimately succeed either.

About the first: Yes, percentages matter more if you’re talking about market share, but if you’re talking about ego and fucking things up, those numbers matter. There are also mechanisms built into the market to keep it from dropping like it did on Oct 22. So, it can never again be a percentage to percentage comparison.

Comparisons to the flu can only get you so far as well. We have vaccines for the flu. We have some level of known immunity. We’ve had flu epidemics wipe out large numbers of people before, partially leaving people who were somewhat immune. The spread of the coronavirus is just getting started.

The flu isn’t going to end Trump’s term unless it incapacitates Trump.

This market will all recover quickly if the coronavirus threat dissipates for this year

Some would say that a correction was needed anyway. That fundamentals (high deficits combined with slow actual growth) were going to work against the equity markets anyway, not to mention the various global vicissitudes .

And US elections bring with them volatility. Notice how the housing market has slowed tremendously, especially for pricier properties. I’ve been watching the San Diego property market for the past 18 months or so, and sales have been declining, and prices. This is a real slowdown, not just one in response to a tight mortgage market, as mortgage rates are still low.

Yesterday I scalded my hand at work when boiling water sloshed over the side of a mug. I made some joke about being clumsy to the kind scientist who was offering me first aid. Then he looked me in the eye and said in the most serious tone:

Y’know, Marco, perhaps Trump’s response to a very real health crisis wouldn’t be treated as a political matter if A) he didn’t keep blaming Democrats for his failure to act and B) he treated Ebola as a political matter to bash Obama with.

Some British tourists are being allowed to leave a Tenerife hotel which has been on lockdown after four Italian guests, including a doctor, tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The Britons are among 130 people out of more than 700 tourists at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace who can now depart the complex.

[…]

A spokesman for the regional government said: “All these tourists, clients, guests present no symptoms … and a decision has been made that frees the hotel from the presence of 130 people.

[…]

Pressed on whether there would be an evacuation flight for Britons, the spokesman said: “We base all our decisions on medical and scientific advice and everything is kept under review.”

Meanwhile, one of two new cases of COVID-19 in the UK is from Derbyshire and they became infected while in Tenerife.

It’s still not clear from these articles if the case in Buxton is from one of the 130 released from the hotel, or if the Brit was just staying at another hotel.

Regardless, it is clear that giving the “clear” sign and letting people leave the island resulted in an infected person ending up in the UK.

This ought to give everyone pause: just because one is cleared to leave a quarantine does not mean they are not infected.

Combine this with the case in Japan where a woman infected was thought recovered, only to find out she is either reinfected or was never really recovered, and it seems that COVID-19 has some nasty tricks.

An acquaintance of Taiwan’s 32nd case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was placed in a negative-pressure isolated ward in Kaohsiung on Wednesday (Feb. 26) after feeling unwell.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that the country’s 32nd coronavirus patient is an undocumented Indonesian who has been working illegally as a caregiver in several northern Taiwan hospitals. Later, the CDC also made public the patient’s movements in recent days, revealing that she had been to numerous public areas in greater Taipei, including Longshan Temple, Shilin Night Market, Taipei City Mall, and New Taipei City’s Dongsheng Park, getting around on buses, the MRT, and Taiwan Railways Administration trains.

Outside of the boxing context it is pretty much exclusively the language of DARVO. In that in practice it cedes the idea that any combat was mutual.

Well, I think it’s a big part of why Trump appeals to who he appeals to.

Whatever their precise hangup is, his base are people who like the idea of hitting and always declaring self-defense. That’s what they want to do in their lives, because they’ve got cruelty to offload on some target.

Well, I think it’s a big part of why Trump appeals to who he appeals to.

Whatever their precise hangup is, his base are people who like the idea of hitting and always declaring self-defense. That’s what they want to do in their lives, because they’ve got cruelty to offload on some target.

That is so true. If you could hear the callers we deal with at work who endlessly BS about how they hate the N-CLANGS on welfare…while they are yelling about their Social Security or Supplemental Security checks…

What if governments stop reporting on cases or deaths attributed to coronavirus? They could very well get away with this — at least for the time needed for the stock market to recover and help re-elect Trump. Given that most cases are mild, this disease could blend in with the flu. If there were suddenly 100,000 cases here and 2,000 deaths that were added to the flu statistics, no one would be the wiser. Do you really think that the Trump administration isn’t capable of concealing the truth?

What if governments stop reporting on cases or deaths attributed to coronavirus? They could very well get away with this — at least for the time needed for the stock market to recover and help re-elect Trump. Given that most cases are mild, this disease could blend in with the flu. If there were suddenly 100,000 cases here and 2,000 deaths that were added to the flu statistics, no one would be the wiser. Do you really think that the Trump administration isn’t capable of concealing the truth?

You can count on the Republican 24/7 Bullshit Machine getting cranked up to 11 to lie to the marks!

For eight more months? No. For one thing, he’d have to shut down updates to the Death Master File, which I think would be impossible to do without setting off mass panic.

You don’t need to conceal deaths — just attribute them to the flu or pneumonia. There are 2.8 million deaths in a year in the United States. An extra 2,000 or even 10,000 deaths would not cause a blip in the statistics.

You don’t need to conceal deaths — just attribute them to the flu or pneumonia. There are 2.8 million deaths in a year in the United States. An extra 2,000 or even 10,000 deaths would not cause a blip in the statistics.

Unfortunately that range strikes me as optimistic. If the 2% mortality rate holds over time then for every 0.01% of the American population that get it, 654 people will die.

You don’t need to conceal deaths — just attribute them to the flu or pneumonia. There are 2.8 million deaths in a year in the United States. An extra 2,000 or even 10,000 deaths would not cause a blip in the statistics.

You need to test for coronavirus — and it’s not as though every hospital has the kit to perform this test. It would not be unreasonable for hospitals to attribute deaths to the flu because the symptoms are similar. For now, there are few cases and these can disappear among the millions of flu sufferers. I am skeptical that the published records across the world are being updated accurately — and we really don’t have a good grasp on mortality rate.

You need to test for coronavirus — and it’s not as though every hospital has the kit to perform this test. It would not be unreasonable for hospitals to attribute deaths to the flu because the symptoms are similar. For now, there are few cases and these can disappear among the millions of flu sufferers. I am skeptical that the published records across the world are being updated accurately — and we really don’t have a good grasp on mortality rate.

Small town doc here. Our little hospital has nucleic acid testing for respiratory viruses. COVID-19 shows up as “negative” on these tests, so if the patient is sick and we don’t see the virus that’s responsible that’s a clue it might be COVID-19

Coronavirus is not the catastrophe of Contagion. It is not spreading rapidly, and its lethality may be significantly less than the reported 2%. Daily deaths have been dropping and the daily number of new cases is level or falling. By next week, (ugh) Trump may again be able to crow about the market.

There will eventually be a true deadly pandemic — but this isn’t it. And it’s clear we are not ready to handle one.

The same people responsible for this failure of government will claim the failure they engineered is proof that government always fails, then use it as a rationale to further erode our government, ensuring further more dire failures. https://t.co/1JggoQ4F7c

The same people responsible for this failure of government will claim the failure they engineered is proof that government always fails, then use it as a rationale to further erode our government, ensuring further more dire failures.

Tax cuts generate deficits so they have further excuse for cutting budgets for social programs and anything that is not military spending or corporate subsidy.

CDC designed and released a flawed test. Private Industry would design and release a test that costs $X to produce but sells at $250X because it is a monopoly…

The problem seems to at least partially be that they never actually “released” it. That’s one of California’s complaints, that the major labs in the UC system aren’t allowed to do the tests. Although I have to admit I’m not sure exactly what “allowed” means in this context. Whether the CDC had some legal / intellectual property claim that controlled this testing or whether they simply wouldn’t pay for them to be conducted at outside facilities, I don’t know.

The problem seems to at least partially be that they never actually “released” it. That’s one of California’s complaints, that the major labs in the UC system aren’t allowed to do the tests. Although I have to admit I’m not sure exactly what “allowed” means in this context. Whether the CDC had some legal / intellectual property claim that controlled this testing or whether they simply wouldn’t pay for them to be conducted at outside facilities, I don’t know.

It’s increasingly likely I will get to cast a meaningful vote in Ky’s May primary. Probably will be choosing between Sanders or Biden, unless one of the other candidates has a surprisingly strong showing on Tuesday.

yeah, quicken thinks I’m still up a bit, but that’s mostly because I had a bank exchange old shares of somebody else for its own, and quicken treats that as though the new shares just magically fell into my lap. I assume I’m actually negative here, putting me pretty much back where I was in the middle of 2018.

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. I got nothing new. The markets continue their volatile turn south, Trump and Pence are too busy with fundraisers to do their day jobs, and incompetence remains the hallmark of the Trump response to everything when not actively sabotaging functioning government.

Is it worrying that the CDC test wasn’t accurate? Yes. Was that also a possibility? Also yes. In the rush to get a test out there, they didn’t get it completely right, which means you’ll get false positive/negative results.

China continues refining their own tests, which also affects the numbers of cases and the possible mortality rate. But we’re also seeing the number of cases rise worldwide. So while the number of cases appears to be declining in China where draconian methods are being used to contain cases, it’s on the rise everywhere else.

700+ in NY are being asked to self-isolate. 8000 people are being monitored in California. Hospitals are now trying to safeguard protective gear because of concerns that staff may be trying to steal them for personal use.

Trump isn’t assuring anyone with his nonsensical word salad ramblings and Pence isn’t any better. All messaging going through the WH is the worst possible way of dealing with the crisis, since the point is to limit the damage to Trump politically, and public safety isn’t even a secondary consideration.

NY officials are running through scenarios that include even school and business closures to contain and limit the spread of the disease.

Governor of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, has declared a state of emergency and is asking residents to stay home this weekend. Hokkaido has by far the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in Japan.

Governor of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, has declared a state of emergency and is asking residents to stay home this weekend. Hokkaido has by far the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in Japan.

odd, as Hokkaido is the most isolated and least densely populated part of Japan…

I’m oh so amused that these so-called football fans forget the existence of a rather prominent former Lions running back.

Worse yet, his concert tonight was in Detroit, which is why Brooks thought to pander by wearing Sanders’s jersey in the first place and not an Emmitt Smith or something.

Also:

Come to think of it, why isn’t there a movement to draft Barry Sanders for President? He had all the right qualities: he was humble, he was great even when those around him weren’t, and he knew when to walk away. pic.twitter.com/s4c3I8puGF

Totes theoretically possible once you hit a brokered convention. They still have to ACCEPT when you call them, but the smoke-filled room has never been limited to candidates who showed up on the first ballot, if for no other reason than that they CLEARLY have bunches who hate ‘em

Is it worrying that the CDC test wasn’t accurate? Yes. Was that also a possibility? Also yes. In the rush to get a test out there, they didn’t get it completely right, which means you’ll get false positive/negative results.

China continues refining their own tests, which also affects the numbers of cases and the possible mortality rate. But we’re also seeing the number of cases rise worldwide. So while the number of cases appears to be declining in China where draconian methods are being used to contain cases, it’s on the rise everywhere else.

….

The number of reported deaths by day has dropped significantly, except for Iran which remains a real outlier. If the CDC test is so flawed, what are the other nations doing? Obviously China has their own tests but everyone else? Does WHO have a test? How is this being measured?

Coronavirus makes clear what has been true all along. Your health is as safe as that of the worst-insured, worst-cared-for person in your society. It will be decided by the height of the floor, not the ceiling.

NEW: Total ad spending in the 2020 presidential race is now over $1 billion since 1/1/19, according to Kantar Media/CMAG data (this includes TV, radio and digital advertising). Bloomberg alone accounts for more than $500 million of that. Steyer has spent over $200 million.

The economy is going to be an issue this fall. That’s the one thing Trump really had going for him. FYI, I don’t believe the economy has ever been as strong as Trump sells it but he definitely was going to run on it, now it might be more difficult.

The one thing I wished I had realized as a teen was how much Libertarianism plays directly into supporting Institutionalized Racism- not by chance, but by design.

Libertarianism** is a good foundation to go right into “Fuck you, I have mine. And keep your hands off it!” mode. It feeds directly into all sorts of personal space things like privacy, a sense of having earned things, distrust of government/taxes, and even a general paranoia about the “other” coming to get your cookie.

And it’s probably a better fit for the human psyche* than what is needed for things like communism or anarchy systems to have a chance to actually succeed.

* - Especially in people who have probably never faced serious want or a need for group cooperation in order to survive.

** - It’s also essentially a parasite system since a society will never develop from the ground up following its precepts. At best you’ll probably get a region beset with small warring factions. (Somalia or rural Afghanistan might be a reasonable example.)

Libertarianism** is a good foundation to go right into “Fuck you, I have mine. And keep your hands off it!” mode. It feeds directly into all sorts of personal space things like privacy, a sense of having earned things, distrust of government/taxes, and even a general paranoia about the “other” coming to get your cookie.

And it’s probably a better fit for the human psyche* than what is needed for things like communism or anarchy systems to have a chance to actually succeed.

* - Especially in people who have probably never faced serious want or a need for group cooperation in order to survive.

** - It’s also essentially a parasite system since a society will never develop from the ground up following its precepts. At best you’ll probably get a region beset with small warring factions. (Somalia or rural Afghanistan might be a reasonable example.)

Libertarians are just Marxists who hate any form of government intervention in the economy. The funniest thing is they think they’re the smart ones and everyone else is a dumbass.

I am essentially operating under the assumption that the virus has made its way into Philadelphia already and will probably spread outward locally from there over the next couple of weeks. Just that the cases have not been detected yet.

So I have a small stockpile of food, water, necessary medicines, and pet food for a few weeks. And I am being very picky about when and where I go out to.

Libertarianism** is a good foundation to go right into “Fuck you, I have mine. And keep your hands off it!” mode. It feeds directly into all sorts of personal space things like privacy, a sense of having earned things, distrust of government/taxes, and even a general paranoia about the “other” coming to get your cookie.

If we were all hatched out as fully formed adults, ready to be fitted with a basic education chip and sent out to realize our potential as free individuals in a competitive marketplace, then I could begin to understand Libertarianism or Ayn Randism.

But we are born dependent, and spend our first years and often many of our last years dependent on others. We are not born as isolated individuals, but as a part of a family, which is usually part of some larger social/ethnic group.

I want a society that takes these notions into consideration and is not just based on some abstract concept of individual freedom vs government control.

Yeah forgot about Brown. Disagree about Davis though he carried Elway to his two SBs.

I concur about Brown. Not so much about Davis. The latter had too short of a career and the Denver offensive line showed with others that they could get just about any running back a 1000 yard rushing season.

If we were all hatched out as fully formed adults, ready to be fitted with an education ship and sent out to realize our potential as individuals on a competitive marketplace, then I could begin to understand Libertarianism or Ayn Randism.

But we are born dependent, and spend our first years and often many of our last years dependent on others. We are not born as isolated individuals, but as a part of a family, which is usually part of some larger social/ethnic group.

I want a society that takes these notions into consideration and is not just based on some abstract concept of individual freedom vs government control.

You could say the same thing about outright socialism too. The thing about objectivists like their socialist fraternal twins is they’re all about their theory at the expense of real life data and observations. I’m a Keynesian in big part because I believe you need to look at data and what’s really going on in society.

There are times when I shouldn’t watch MSNBC. I don’t know when they will come. But the conversation between Lawrence and a California congressman whose district is where a C-virus sufferer showed up, a pandemic specialist, and Ned Price was one of those times. It’s clear that there are absolutely no plans in place for anything. And as Ned Price said, “the world is watching how America deals with this.”

I concur about Brown. Not so much about Davis. The latter had too short of a career and the Denver offensive line showed with others that they could get just about any running back a 1000 yard rushing season.

Yeah Shannahan’s teams always had consistent 1000 yard RBs. TD was the best of that bunch by far. I’d say it’s Jim or Barry. Emmitt deserves respect but I wouldn’t call him the best ever at his position. Of course, I’m all about Franco Harris and The Bus here but I’m biased.

Yeah Shannahan’s teams always had consistent 1000 yard RBs. TD was the best of that bunch by far. I’d say it’s Jim or Barry. Emmitt deserves respect but I wouldn’t call him the best ever at his position. Of course, I’m all about Franco Harris and The Bus here but I’m biased.

Barry was one of those running backs you had to catch. Emmitt was one of those that made you pay for being in front of him.

Zefrank provides an escape again. He has a series of “human test” to see if you are in fact human.

You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?

You could say the same thing about outright socialism too. The thing about objectivists like their socialist fraternal twins is they’re all about their theory at the expense of real life data and observations. I’m a Keynesian in big part because I believe you need to look at data and what’s really going on in society.

Marxists at least appreciate class affiliation as an aspect of society and economics.

And we need to consider that there is a distinction between equality of opportunity and equality before the law vs. equality of abilities and potentials, and of course, equality of wealth or resources at our disposal based on our family, class or social status.

Barry was one of those running backs you had to catch. Emmitt was one of those that made you pay for being in front of him.

Yeah different styles. I always preferred the bruisers. Loads of respect for Sanders though. He wasn’t the biggest guy even then for a RB but man he had some skills. My personal favorite RBs are Bussy and Harris. But I’m a Pittsburgh fan.

You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?

I won’t ascribe to malice what is clearly a pattern arising from incompetence.

Donald Trump became President by playing on the fears of the know-nothings. All that Trump is centers around knowing nothing. Trump has always been about lying and puffery, a facade of stardom covering up a lack of any other skill or knowledge.

Having the CDC refuse to help California in testing for COVID is malice.

Marxists at least appreciate class affiliation as an aspect of society and economics.

And we need to consider that there is a distinction between equality of opportunity and equality before the law vs. equality of abilities and potentials, and of course, equality of wealth or resources at our disposal based on our family, class or social status.

The problem IMO is making economics an absolutist game. I don’t like being talked down to by people whose vision of capitalism hasn’t evolved and people whose vision of Marxism hasn’t evolved.

Dave Weigel’s review of the South Carolina race was pretty thorough, but he mentioned the Galivants Ferry Stump and said Joe and Pete were the only candidates still in the race who attended. I sent him an email with a picture of Amy at the Stump.

I know she’s mostly an afterthought these days, but jeez—she IS still running.

Interesting how events have made first the GOP and now the entire conservative movement make *everything* revolve around Trump. It’s what they have to do in order to appeal to the base since otherwise they have to own the incompetence and the fact that *they are* screwing over said base for their own profit.

Gold is back down under $1620. But very sensitive to virus news and the impact of futures traders right now. On a practical note, jewelry makers are treading very carefully about when to put more gold into the production stream. Lots of pressure to pause. Best thing for real biz is stability. This ain’t it.

If we were all hatched out as fully formed adults, ready to be fitted with an education ship and sent out to realize our potential as individuals on a competitive marketplace, then I could begin to understand Libertarianism or Ayn Randism.

But we are born dependent, and spend our first years and often many of our last years dependent on others. We are not born as isolated individuals, but as a part of a family, which is usually part of some larger social/ethnic group.

I want a society that takes these notions into consideration and is not just based on some abstract concept of individual freedom vs government control.

Precisely why I think education needs to be given higher value as well as the necessary safety nets and systems to protect our citizens (and immigrants to our society.)

The problem IMO is making economics an absolutist game. I don’t like being talked down to by people whose vision of capitalism hasn’t evolved and people whose vision of Marxism hasn’t evolved.

It was Gorbachev who came to the West in the 80’s and saw how every business, even a flower shop or a building contractor, used personal computers and realized that the USSR could no longer based their model of government on restricting and containing information.

And now capitalism is not about owning factories and machines outright, capital exists predominantly in the form of licenses and patents, production is outsourced to anyone who can consistently fulfill production standards and quotas.

If we were all hatched out as fully formed adults, ready to be fitted with a basic education chip and sent out to realize our potential as free individuals in a competitive marketplace, then I could begin to understand Libertarianism or Ayn Randism.

But we are born dependent, and spend our first years and often many of our last years dependent on others. We are not born as isolated individuals, but as a part of a family, which is usually part of some larger social/ethnic group.

I want a society that takes these notions into consideration and is not just based on some abstract concept of individual freedom vs government control.

Ayn Rand may have been a sociopath but it is possible that if she had children, she could never have developed her philosophy. It is cold, cruel, evil, and lacking in compassion, with no understanding of human nature, and no love or concern for anything outside of oneself.

Yeah Shannahan’s teams always had consistent 1000 yard RBs. TD was the best of that bunch by far. I’d say it’s Jim or Barry. Emmitt deserves respect but I wouldn’t call him the best ever at his position. Of course, I’m all about Franco Harris and The Bus here but I’m biased.

Sanders and Walter Payton both did an awful lot without much of a supporting cast.

And the styles and environment changed in the NFL over the decades. Harris and Bettis were to a degree from different eras of the game.

Precisely why I think education needs to be given higher value as well as the necessary safety nets and systems to protect our citizens (and immigrants to our society.)

If we want politicians to “run government like a business”, then education, health care, safety and environmental protection are viewed as expenses to be cut or eliminated to increase the “bottom line”, rather than as investments in a healthier and more productive society and economy.

The problem with these market corrections is that the noise machines seek to continue the status quo, rather than look at the long-term implications of what we’re doing in “investing” in this country.

At its root I’ll call the belief in number-magic. Numbers become magical. Surely this is Trump’s belief, and he intuitively exploits it in his quest for power.

If you look at the long term price history of assets, such as equities, it is pretty clear that we’ve got an in-built desire for exponential growth. Yet that is not possible in the physical world, to continue forever, or even for much longer.

All that more exponential growth in equity prices will accomplish is to bake in that exponential growth in inflation.

A deep problem got inserted into the minds of Americans, back in the Reagan era, that if everyone just owned equities in companies that there would be some sort of magical wealth machine.

But it’s a deception. This kind of growth is just about numbers - literally digits growing.

It’s not material.

Anyway, this week’s correction still hasn’t gotten the equities back to their 2018 lows, now where near it. Maybe if the COVAD-19 continues to turn out worse and worse we could see deeper corrections in markets next week.

Precisely why I think education needs to be given higher value as well as the necessary safety nets and systems to protect our citizens (and immigrants to our society.)

Teaching is the most important non-parent job. We should spend more on salaries and on education in general. And my one requirement when I personally make all education paid by taxes is that trade schools will be required to teach courses on government and economics.

The hostility many of them have to older people disgusts me. Not just because I lost my grandma recently but because my grandparents as a whole really helped shape me politically directly and indirectly.

Teaching is the most important non-parent job. We should spend more on salaries and on education in general. And my one requirement when I personally make all education paid by taxes is that trade schools will be required to teach courses on government and economics.

I’m FB friends with two of my teachers. The one is still doing the things that inspired me to a new generation by bringing current events to his students and making history relatable. He wrote a book about his teaching experiences as well. He’s as much a mentor as my mom, dad, & grandparents. People who hate educators don’t get that.

If we want politicians to “run government like a business”, then education, health care, safety and environmental protection are viewed as expenses to be cut or eliminated to increase the “bottom line”, rather than as investments in a healthier and more productive society and economy.

Which gets you to “third world” status really fast. And you really don’t save money that way since you now need to invest in security, police, etc. since your underpaid workers have little/no incentive to be productive, and probably steal everything they can to survive. And your equipment and product is probably stolen or vandalized the moment you aren’t looking. Plus you need to worry about shipments getting hijacked and taken for sale in a black market.

Plus your executives probably have to live in armed and fortified enclaves, travel with bodyguards, and worry about being kidnapped. Or being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting lynched by an angry mob. (And this would be the world of “no go” zones.)

I’d rather pay the taxes and live in a relatively safe, open, and educated society than have more personal money and live in a place one small step from being a war zone.

Getting back to the markets - when most people buy stock they are gambling. That’s gambling… like with the lottery. Not investing.

This is best seen by looking at the P/E ratios. It’s very old fashion of me to stress P/E ratios. Because new-fangled investment schemes are built to sell gambling, not investing.

Gambling with stocks is simply this: you’re betting you are buying or selling (or in the futures market also selling then buying) at a time where you are going to outsmart the next guy who comes along. This is poker, but with stock certs instead of French playing cards.

And even though I’m not religious I get how clergy too play a role in our lives too which is why the abuse of kids by any religious leader should bother us all regardless of our ties to that religion or denomination.

Jordan Peele may be one of the most versatile people in film today. I’m watching Hunters right now that he also produced. He’s someone I would love to talk film with. Him and Scorsese and Tarantino. That would be a round table since it’s obvious they’re both movie fans as much as their audience.

Getting back to the markets - when most people buy stock they are gambling. That’s gambling… like with the lottery. Not investing.

This is best seen by looking at the P/E ratios. It’s very old fashion of me to stress P/E ratios. Because new-fangled investment schemes are built to sell gambling, not investing.

Gambling with stocks is simply this: you’re betting you are buying or selling (or in the futures market also selling then buying) at a time where you are going to outsmart the next guy who comes along. This is poker, but with stock certs instead of French playing cards.

Yep. Playing the market for stocks gaining value and then selling is the “new” style of the past couple of decades. There are still stocks that can be held for dividend value, but they tend to be expensive per share and thus not ones to buy for change in value investing.

And, from there you also get into messing with options and futures where you’re not buying the stock or item, but simply the option to do so within a time period for a certain price. It is essentially gambling that you can predict where the market values will go. (Of course, if you’re a corrupt or cheating SOB you do crap like insider trading or attempted manipulation via the media or other reporting.)

Jordan Peele may be one of the most versatile people in film today. I’m watching Hunters right now that he also produced. He’s someone I would love to talk film with. Him and Scorsese and Tarantino. That would be a round table since it’s obvious they’re both movie fans as much as their audience.

And even though I’m not religious I get how clergy too play a role in our lives too which is why the abuse of kids by any religious leader should bother us all regardless of our ties to that religion or denomination.

Which is why I think the various denominations should have a much greater interest in cracking down and rooting this stuff out rather than covering it up. If you claim the high moral ground for yourself than act like you deserve to actually have it. Otherwise it’s hypocrisy of the first order and blatant proof that you don’t deserve the respect or deferential treatment that your organization claims is its right by default.

I remember when I saw Kill Bill Vol. 1, I was giggling with glee as Tarantino had thrown in damn near every existing genre he’s a fan of, from Hong Kong action cinema to spaghetti Westerns to revenge flicks to anime. It was glorious.

DOW seems to fluctuating between “Down a lot”, “Down a hell of a lot” and “Holy shit, we’re going over the cliff again!”

We were long overdue for a correction and this has been the perfect excuse for them to have one. I think we aren’t even at the point yet where the players are even looking at the big virus picture, this was just time to cash out and enter a new reset mode.

Just in time for Daylight Saving Time and my move back one hour at work. (Why yes, I work 7 am to 4 pm PT but I live in MST, so currently working 8 to 5.) The grocery store doesn’t open until 7 am, so either have to make it myself or buy the bag o’ bacon.

I’d be bored silly by two of them and don’t know the third. Sorry. I especially dislike Tarantino whom I consider to be a hack violence pornographer with nothing new to say.

Fair enough. We have different tastes. Mostly I’d be interested in hearing what they say about other films. Peele though has done everything from comedy to horror and he’s doing a Twilight Zone reboot too.

I don’t know what planet they’re living on. I’ve been working on voter registration in “underrepresented” groups since 2017.

Even in states like Illinois where you don’t lose your franchise after you die 😉, many poor African American voters cannot vote because they don’t have a fixed residence or are forced to move frequently. This needs to be remedied.

Only when weekly tithings in their churches start to go down from falling attendance (contagion fear) will Pence and his religious zealot Minister supporters start demanding and implementing more government activity to use actual science to fix this situation.

This thread is brutal and it underscores my own experience in food service. People in food service keep working while they are sick. It isn’t just fast food, either. High end restaurants are nearly always understaffed and ego is also a factor where staying at work while running a fever is a point of pride.

I am not an expert in immunology - I follow doctors for that.

But I did spend 9 years as a manager at a pizza place that paid better than average wages for food service.

I concur about Brown. Not so much about Davis. The latter had too short of a career and the Denver offensive line showed with others that they could get just about any running back a 1000 yard rushing season.

This thread is brutal and it underscores my own experience in food service. People in food service keep working while they are sick. It isn’t just fast food, either. High end restaurants are nearly always understaffed and ego is also a factor where staying at work while running a fever is a point of pride.

Happens everywhere….I work in healthcare and idiots who are symptomatic still show up to work.

This thread is brutal and it underscores my own experience in food service. People in food service keep working while they are sick. It isn’t just fast food, either. High end restaurants are nearly always understaffed and ego is also a factor where staying at work while running a fever is a point of pride.

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Yeah, I keep thinking about that thread I read yesterday about how Coronavirus could impact this country due to Americans general refusal (due to costs) to see a doctor or go to an ER unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.

And then there’s the work thing. I have fought through many sick days at work but not because of pride or ego but because I COULD NOT AFFORD TO NOT GET PAID or I worked for a company that straight up didn’t offer sick time, which in most of this country is NOT required by law.

Maybe. Maybe not. I, with my congestion and hacking cough, spent the day with my daughter (with her congestion and hacking cough) and my granddaughter yesterday. We didn’t wear masks or gloves or worry overmuch-because we got this stupid respiratory virus from the aforementioned granddaughter. Thankfully Mr. C. never got it.
This guy and his family have presumably been cooped up together for a couple weeks and even if he still has a lingering cough from some stupid non-covid respiratory virus presumably his daughter isn’t going to suddenly get it at this point. Or maybe she had it and is over it.

From 705 cases, Diamond Princess now has 6 deaths and 34 in severe/critical condition. Critical cases reportedly have a 49% mortality rate . If that rate holds in this situation, that could lead up to a total of 23 deaths (6 + possible 17 from the severe/critical classification) — or about 3.3%. That would be very troubling, though cruise ship clientele trend older.

A woman working as a tour-bus guide in Japan has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus for a second time, raising fears of a “bi-phasic” infection pattern similar to anthrax.
[…]
NYU School of Medicine professor of microbiology and pathology Philip Tierno Jr said much remained unknown about the virus, and it was possible the disease was bi-phasic, meaning symptoms could go away before returning again later on.

“Once you have the infection, it could remain dormant and with minimal symptoms, and then you can get an exacerbation if it finds its way into the lungs,” Prof Tierno said.

I highly recommend this as a very early, and highly under-estimated, bio-catastrophe novel. Some story elements appear to have been incorporated into the The Stand, though they do not rise to the level of plagiarism. Unlike King, Stewart did not invoke the supernatural.

“Earth Abides is a 1949 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer George R. Stewart. It tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and its rebirth. The story was set in the United States in the 1940s in Berkeley, California and told by a character, Isherwood Williams, who emerges from isolation in the mountains to find almost everyone dead.”

One extraordinary element for the time is that the story revolves around a mixed race couple, though this is not emphasized and is almost incidental.

Emma (Em) is a woman who Isherwood meets in his hometown. The author may have been taking a chance with this character, who is, at least partially, African-American, while Isherwood is white; when the book was written, interracial marriages were heavily discouraged in American society. Isherwood does marry her, and race isn’t important to the couple’s relationship. Em (“mother” in Hebrew) becomes the community’s mother, letting it grow as it will, but stepping in to help when no one else is filling the leadership role. She was the adult while others panicked, and Ish thought of her as the “Mother of Nations”.[

Wonder what kind of screening there will be? And what happens if someone in the dais behind Trump starts coughing? Will they be whisked away in a headlock by Secret Service agents in facemasks? Or will Trump be bundled off the stage?

Oh, the opportunities for fuckery, if only the progressives had a talented ratfucker like Roger Stone …

Wonder what kind of screening there will be? And what happens if someone in the dais behind Trump starts coughing? Will they be whisked away in a headlock by Secret Service agents in facemasks? Or will Trump be bundled off the stage?

Oh, the opportunities for fuckery, if only the progressives had a talented ratfucker like Roger Stone …

If transmission turns out to be near universal, and it kills 2%… that’s about the same percentage that died in the Civil War.

I highly recommend this as a very early, and highly under-estimated, bio-catastrophe novel. Some story elements appear to have been incorporated into the The Stand, though they do not rise to the level of plagiarism. Unlike King, Stewart did not invoke the supernatural.

One extraordinary element for the time is that the story revolves around a mixed race couple, though this is not emphasized and is almost incidental.

That’s a good one, another is Warday. A survivor of a nuclear war travels around the country in the aftermath interviewing others for their stories. WW Z comes to mind as a similar book in style and execution.

If transmission turns out to be near universal, and it kills 2%… that’s about the same percentage that died in the Civil War.

America will be spared compared to other parts of the world because of its population density and structure. I am terribly concerned for regions that are densely populated, where normal life involves coming into close physical proximity to hundreds/thousands of other people.

Especially considering the demographic differences between the parties.

That and responding to it too. We’re going to need top notch people to handle this. That’s why Trump appointing Pence to be in charge of this is so awful. Pence has probably less science education than I do and I was a history major.

America will be spared compared to other parts of the world because of its population density and structure. I am terribly concerned for regions that are densely populated, where normal life involves being in close physical proximity to hundreds/thousands of other people.

That’s a good one, another is Warday. A survivor of a nuclear war travels around the country in the aftermath interviewing others for their stories. WW Z comes to mind as a similar book in style and execution.

Ralph Burton [harry belafonte] is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. [jack of all trades mechanically smart] Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall [inger steverns], who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker [mel ferrer] who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city’s harbor. At this point the tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white and Burton, who is black.

That and responding to it too. We’re going to need top notch people to handle this. That’s why Trump appointing Pence to be in charge of this is so awful. Pence has probably less science education than I do and I was a history major.

And the funny/sad thing about it is the market would have responded better to an active, well thought out and co-ordinated response led by experts.

Instead, they see the shitshow for what it is and are as scared as the rest of us about what may happen.

#HongKong authority suggested on Fri to send #pet dogs and cats of confirmed #COVID19 patients for a 14-day quarantine. Investigations will be carried out to find out whether pets of previously confirmed cases need quarantine. https://t.co/VvQdnciLas

Hu, good point. Also, 3M has been manufacturing protective gear for years in China. China urgently needs to grant 3M permission to ship protective gear from China to USA to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Hu, good point. Also, 3M has been manufacturing protective gear for years in China. China urgently needs to grant 3M permission to ship protective gear from China to USA to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Let us hope that Trump does not impose any import tariffs on those Chinese goods…

If transmission turns out to be near universal, and it kills 2%… that’s about the same percentage that died in the Civil War.

Catastrophising again. Even the Diamond Princess has an infection rate under 20%. Wuhan has 11 million people and less than 110,000 cases. Even if they’re vastly underreported, that’s less than 5%. (And Hubei province has 55 million people.)

One “germ apocalypse” story I’ve always liked is a short story by Stephen King - and I’m pretty sure “The Stand” was an expansion of the short story.

“Night Surf”, which was in his short story collection Night Shift. A virus , known as A6, originates in China, spreads worldwide and pretty much wipes out humanity. The story is told from the POV a small group of young people, uninfected, waiting to die.

Catastrophising again. Even the Diamond Princess has an infection rate under 20%. Wuhan has 11 million people and less than 110,000 cases. Even if they’re vastly underreported, that’s less than 5%. (And Hubei province has 55 million people.)

No. China was able to resort to draconian police state practices to restrict transmission, and the cruise ship was also able to keep people in rooms to stop transmission.

Here in America, those factors are not operative, and people here are highly likely to keep going to work while sick and avoid medical treatment because of costs and fear of losing income or the job entirely.

One of my friends told me about Jim Baker’s additional use for his doomsday seeds. You can put the boxes side-by-side, throw a sheet over them, and voila, a table. The ultimate intersection of redneck and prepper.

Riggo’s infamous “”come on, loosen up, Sandy baby, you’re too tight.” to Justice O’Connor is the stuff of local sports legend around here. Can’t bring up Riggans’ name without that story.ftw.usatoday.com

I finally remembered what Trump’s news conference the other day reminded me of. The way he was sort of casting around in an unsure voice suggesting the coronavirus was a problem, maybe, but not really a problem and he’s sure it will go away, but the numbers might increase a bit, but he doubts it. Etc.

Years ago there was a PBS program (Nova, maybe?) talking about pseudoscience where someone went to a pair of Russian psychics for a reading on someone in a photo. They asked leading questions, made suggestions, and produced a very few definite but very general statements about the subject, but had a very hard time because the person showing them the photo gave them no reactions and no feedback for them to latch onto. The man in the photo? Ted Bundy. The “psychics” entirely missed the serial killer part of who he was.

Trump is lost when he can’t get feedback from the rubes, and he sure isn’t getting feedback on this.

That’s a good one, another is Warday. A survivor of a nuclear war travels around the country in the aftermath interviewing others for their stories. WW Z comes to mind as a similar book in style and execution.

Catastrophising again. Even the Diamond Princess has an infection rate under 20%. Wuhan has 11 million people and less than 110,000 cases. Even if they’re vastly underreported, that’s less than 5%. (And Hubei province has 55 million people.)

We may not know for sure about the total number of DP infections because some who returned home because their initial tests were negative may subsequently test positive. And who knows how accurate are any statistics from China?

That said, I certainly share your stated view that it’s not the apocalypse. It’s way premature to talk about COVID-19 prevalence or death rate here. But we certainly need a reliable test for the disease.

After they all spent significant time essentially breathing the same same air and handling the same utensils. It is reasonable to assume that the vast majority were exposed.

(We don’t know how long it was spreading in China, or how extensive those “draconian measures” really are, only what the Chinese government tells us.)

I’m out of here for a while. Feel free to keep scaring yourselves to death while I’m gone.

Nobody here is in a panic. Nobody is throwing around conspiracy nonsense. We do know this thing is dangerous, it is easily transmitted and that the CDC has warned that significant disruption to daily life should be expected. That means school shutdowns etc.

Fear is reasonable. Panic is not. Use fear to get yourself ready if you have to deal with a quarantine or school and work closure.

Japan just declared a nationwide state of emergency and closed ALL schools for a month. Do we think we are somehow immune?

If everyone follows these instructions, collectively we have the power to slow the spread of a pandemic — saving the lives of the most vulnerable, reducing the ultimate economic damage.https://t.co/CNfJ0hK8H0

IIRC, Almost 50 years ago I attended a lecture where he read the story to the audience. Let’s just say I hated the ending. He definitely had a warped vision of the world, but then, given how our reality has been transformed into a nightmare over the past 3 years, maybe his perception is more accurate than mine.

Nobody here is in a panic. Nobody is throwing around conspiracy nonsense. We do know this thing is dangerous, it is easily transmitted and that the CDC has warned that significant disruption to daily life should be expected. That means school shutdowns etc.

Fear is reasonable. Panic is not. Use fear to get yourself ready if you have to deal with a quarantine or school and work closure.

Japan just declared a nationwide state of emergency and closed ALL schools for a month. Do we think we are somehow immune?